Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-02-23
THAT INVESTIGATION.
More Testimony About the Advancing OF
Bills on File-New Developments.

of the bill creating Glenn county on the HE
| met in the Assembly chamber. A large
number of spectators were present, and
among which were several ladies, num-
! Der of members of both Houses, and score
of reporters.
The first witness called was Frank ID.
RYAN, Chief Clerk, who gave an outline oil
| the manner in which business is done at
| the desk-taking bill from its introduce
| ton. following it through the committees,
| first. second and third reading and posi-
| ton on the file He then outlined the
duties OF the several clerks at the desk, and
stated what each had to do with the bills
as they passed through their hands.
Ed J. Smith was next called. he could
not state, in response to questions by ELS
worth, that any amendments attached TO
bills had been torn off.
"You have so stated, have you not?"
Not to this committee, | haven't"
but have you not to others?
may, in general conversation, have so
stated"
well, if you did so state, the statement
was hntrue, was it?'
Yes, sir, | may have so stated IN gen.
eral conversation"
Smith then went over consid cradle OF
the testimony he had already given, telling
names of persons that had attempted to
induce him to change the position of bills
on the tie. He took his file that he had
kept from day to day, and pointed out
check-marks made by different individuals
and explained what they meant. On page
of the file of January 25th. check marks
appeared before bills Nos. 122 and 40, rela-
tive to insurance. He explained that these
| were made by Mr.. Shaen, who said that
Mr.. Mann requested one to be showed as
far ahead as possible, the other as far down
me anything Tor ii. He simply said it was
for Mr.. Mann. Smith said that Assembly
bill 267 was the one which Agnew offered
him $500 to put back on the file. Bill
Hunt told me that Agnew was all right,
and would do as he agreed. On the 18th OF
February was asked by Falk to advance
the Glenn county bill on the file. He
repeated the request on the next
day. He said we would be fixed for doing
1t. Went to Hart, author of the bill, but
he refused to have anything to do with it.
Saw Falk talking to the Glenn county men
in the lobby. Smith then detailed how he
and Ryan had seen Falk undertake to
! make the change when he was stopped by
Ryan. Smith then went through his file
and proved beyond a question of doubt
that the file from the beginning of
the session had been properly
kept, and that no bill had been
advanced or showed down. His testimony
was entirely corroborated by the Chief
Clerk. One bill that had got on the file by
accident was ascertained to have been
transferred by mistake in the State Print
ing Office from the Senate to the Assembly
file
Smith, when pinned down closely by the
committee, said he wanted to be distinctly
understood that he was not before the
committee as prosecutor-only as q wit
ness. He was giving testimony and stick
ing to facts.
Mr. Moffitt, who was present, asked
Did you ever drop a bill from the file?"
"No, sir; l never did bnt you asked
me to drop bill from the file"
" What doyou do with bill when it is
withdrawn"
a check it off the file and the bill itself
is put in the dead box"
Smith said he was approached every day
by persons who wanted him to move bills
up on the file. No one offered him money.
but all dealt in promises to pay.
Mr.. Shaen-"Did you state before the
committee that l had an interest in the
pavement BILL"
:" Yes, sir; did so state
Shaen-" Did l ever speak to you about
that bill ?"
Yes, sir; you told me that whatever
was made ont of it we would divy'
Shaen-" Did you ever write 10 Goodman
regarding that bill?"
Maybe have. think I have"
Shaen-" When Goodman met you the
other day he asked you what you had been
saying. Did you not reply that you had
been confused and did not know what you
had been SAYING"
Smith hesitated, and Shaen asked that
George Goodman, of No. 404 Sansome
street, San Francisco, be summoned as a
witness, with orders to bring kilograms and
letters received from Smith of recent date.
Shaen-"Did you not say to me that you
would take charge of the bill in the House
and shove it?'"
Smith-"No, sir. The only thing said
about showing bills was when you wanted
me to shove one down and one up for
Mann"
Falk-"Did 1 ask you to destroy that
fle?'
Smith-"Last Thursday you asked me to
substitute page for a mutilated one, ask
ing me to destroy the latter. l told you /
could not without consent of Ryan.
asked Ryan about it, and he said No sir,
we will do what we can for Falk, but we
can't destroy public record y
Falk-" Did ever mention the Goodman
pavement bill to your"
Smith You did, sir"
Falk-" Did you not, on the contrary
come TO Inc and ask me if there was any
thing in the bill, and say you had been APP
preached by parties interested"
Smith" Most emphatically no. You
| ooy,,a IN mo and oSLpd mo tn advance tbe
| bill said there was money in it for both
of US, and complained that I was moi
standing in with the boys, but allowing
| outsiders to get away with all the cash."
Moffitt asked Smith if he knew Frank NJ
| Stone of San Francisco, and R. S. Carey o.
Sacramento, and if they had not APP
| preached him regarding the Seary bill re-
| iating to street railroads. He denied having
been approached by either.
Smith then explained, in response to &
| question by member of the committee
| that it would be impossible for him to
change the position of bill on the file
owing to their system of checks, without
its being discovered by the other clerks a
| the desk.
Chairman Heath" My attention ha:
been called to the following telegram il
| the San Francisco Post of this evening:
1
! Buckley you have deceived me in tina
| matter. Unless YOU send me twenty dollar
on receipt of this will hurt your bill.
| E. ]. SMITH.
| Smith would not say that he had or ha(
not sent the telegram. He had sent tele
gram concerning private business matters
and he would go to the telegraph ofiic,
with the Chairman of the committee anC
| show him the original and explain its con
| tents. He complained bitterly of the un
fair treatment he had received at the hand!
of the press generally, and of the Post il
particular.
Senator Moffitt addressed the committee
stating that the charges preferred agains
him by Smith were of very serious ma
ture. He wished to disprove them all, ant
in so doing would bring John Enos anc
ten or more equally reliable witnesses
who would testify TO the character o
| Smith. and would show him up to the com
mittee as a thief, a forger, a black
mailer, totally devoid of truth, man who
should not be believed under oath. HI
would show by men who had employed
| Smith in clerical positions that he was dis
| honest and totally unreliable. He ther
cross-ouestioned Smith at considerable
| length. but failed to make any impression
upon him.
Raw Falk made his statement, which wa
a lame affair, and corroborated Smith ties
timony. He did not deny mutilatiDg tb'
| file. He admitted he had no right to toucf
the file, and could give no reason why b,
.,,ol, Tho %.